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Galrahn · 04-13-2007, 13:46 PM

This is an interesting representation regarding how the USN sees Global Fleet Stations.

Quote:

Proactive and Persistent
(A Future Sea Story)

Five coastal nations, all with considerable natural resources essential to the recently requested international assistance in countering challenges to their sovereignty imposed by poverty, disease, poor governance, insurgency, and terrorism. As a result, the United States has established a Global Fleet Station (GFS) in the region. USS SHREVEPORT (LPD 12), uniquely manned and equipped, has served as the central platform in the GFS for two years. Her complement of Sailors and Marines has been adaptively packaged and trained to accomplish a diverse set of missions, to include civil-military operations, maritime security, and security cooperation.

Prior to arrival in the region they began coordination with U.S. Embassy personnel, including the Naval Attaché (a foreign area officer), representatives from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and agents
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These U.S. officials, all fluent in local dialects, had spent the previous six months working with local law enforcement officials, civil and military authorities, and private citizens to assess host nation needs and build working relationships. This interaction allowed the Sailors and Marines to effectively focus their actions on the immediate needs of alleviating distress and improving security. As the local citizenry recognized and grew to appreciate this assistance, mutual trust and confidence increased. Over time, these relationships resulted in iden fication of additional requirements as well as the generation of better intelligence, leading to changes in capabilities resident in, and operations conducted from, the GFS. These included the arrival of U.S. Army veterinarians to curb disease in the livestock, Coast Guard small boat specialists to assist local forces in patrolling the littoral and protecting oil platforms, civil engineers from the Air Force and Navy to improve infrastructure, civilian health care professionals to initiate preventative medicine programs, and international legal experts to promote governance. While the presence in the Gulf was intended as a peaceful one, the enduring need for vigilant, combat readiness demonstrated itself one night when pirates attacked SHREVEPORT due to the mistaken notion that she was providing logistic support to the oil platforms. SHREVEPORT’s embarked helicopters, which had been providing lift support for infrastructure repairs to roads and building ashore, in coordination with local patrol craft emonstrated their versatility by sinking several pirate boats. Subsequently, Sailors, Marines, and local authorities boarded the remaining pirate vessels and obtained information leading to the discovery of a terrorist camp.

Upset that the GFS (which had been so beneficial to the region) had been attacked, the local population provided numerous tips on terrorist activities.

From this information a coordinated series of raids were conducted involving Marines and local forces to remove a terrorist training facility and key terrorist support activities.

While the mix of people, platforms and resources in the GFS has
continuously evolved, the local nations have grown to count on the GFS
presence to build their partner capacity as a means of enhancing the
security and economic development of the region.

There will be some major reports about it out either June or July, something that better describes the CONOP.

For me, it sounds a lot like another buzz word for a combination of existing CONOPS, from "Sea Basing" to "1000 ship Navy" to "littoral operations." There is no existing clear vision here, but it there is an idea wrapped in the GFS that could tie together the ever increasing number of methods and missions the USN is framing its 21st century strategy around.